Dubai: 4 expats jailed for robbing woman of Dh42,000, using cash to buy bitcoin

Four Asians were sentenced to three years in jail for robbing a woman of Dh42,000 in Dubai. They assaulted her, stripped her naked, and converted her money into bitcoin, court records show.

The victim told the police that she was kidnapped, assaulted, and robbed after getting into a deal with one of the gang members who said he wanted to buy digital currency, court records show.

It turned out that a member of the group was working as a driver for the woman and he knew that she was a cryptocurrency investor. He and the rest of the gang decided to plot the crime and lure her into a bogus deal so they could steal her money, according to the documents at the Dubai Court of First Instance.

The victim said she agreed to meet the group, but when she arrived at the specified location within Dubai Investments Park, she was shocked to see a group of people coming toward her. She told the court that they demanded that she transfer her money to their account.

"I was assaulted, electrocuted, stripped off my clothes, and photographed, so the pictures could be used to blackmail me," she told the authorities.

After several hours, they left her on a street — her hands tied and a plastic bag placed on her face. She was eventually able to run and go to the police, according to court records.

The police said the CID team was able to track down the members of the gang after reviewing the CCTV footage at the crime scene. Upon their arrest, the authorities found the victim's clothes and an electric shock device in their homes. They also got hold of the video clips where the woman appeared naked, according to court records.

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